Although most people with mesothelioma do not live even five years after treatment, there are people who do. If you are diagnosed with mesothelioma, remember these people and realize that everyone’s situation is different. You may be a person who is going to change statistics and live a very long time.Stephen J. Gould was a very influential evolutionary biologist. He was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in 1982. He did not despair, but decided that he would be in the group of patients who did better than average. He lived another 20 years, and died of a probably unrelated cancer in 2002.
Shirley Kaven was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 1989. Despite a prognosis of 6 to18 months, she refused to give up. She and her husband travelled the country and she felt well for many years. She died 14 years after diagnosis.
Paul Kraus has been alive with peritoneal mesothelioma since 1997. Along with his doctors, he created his own treatment plan which included alternative treatments that he believes keep him alive.
An unnamed patient was reported in the Annals of Thoracic Surgery in 2007. This patient survived with only some local tumor resection for at least 12 years. The doctors evaluating this case believe that the patient’s own immune system stopped the cancer.
There are other patients with stories of survival. These stories are not only a reason to hope. They also point to the fact that there is much more to be learned about mesothelioma, and that doctors may find better ways to treat the disease if they study patients like this.
Dr. Kaplan
